'The EU defends a criminal' claims MEP

MEP Dr. Maximilian Krah, member of the group Identity and Democracy and member of the Committee on International Trade, has reacted sharply at criticism of the European Parliament's resolution on the situation in Kazakhstan, noting the "courtship" of a convicted murderer, writes Phillipe Jeune

Dr Krah would you comment on your statement?

- Behind the resolution are years of relentless lobbying by the convicted criminal and billionaire Mukhtar Ablyazov, and his so-called NGO “Open Dialogue Foundation (ODF)”, which has set itself the task of discrediting the state of Kazakhstan.

Ablyazov, who embezzled over 7 billion euros is being courted by the European Parliament.

The Parliament would apparently blindly believe a convicted murderer and fraudster than look at data, facts and reality! This is shameful and one has to apologise for the fact that this is the reality of European politics today.

I fully respect the Justice of Kazakhstan but I want to stress that he was not only convicted in his country but also in the United Kingdom that he had to flee illegally to avoid prison.

- Mr. Deputy during the discussion in the parliament, when you were talking about unfair lobbying by individual deputies, some of your colleagues started laughing and behaving badly. Could you please comment on this?

At first mocking laughter in the plenary hall, then revealing silence. When I drew attention to the lobbying work of the Kazakh billionaire Mukhtar Ablyazov's ODF, things suddenly became quiet in the plenary: Ablyazov likes to disguise himself as a philanthropist in order to assert his own economic interests.

He enjoys being courted by the EU Parliament and his ODF is regularly invited to Brussels, in the EP premises. He was convicted for the brutal murder of his predecessor as chairman of the BTA Bank, and also for having embezzled 7 billion euros from that bank. He was therefore sentenced in Kazakhstan. Since then he has been agitating against his own country.

And the EU? It stands by the side of this criminal and thereby reveals the mendacity of its human rights imperialism. I have zero understanding of this.

- What can be done to prevent this unfair activity within the walls of European democracy?

On my initiative, the EP Research Service conducted an analysis of the activities of the Open Dialogue Foundation (ODF), which shows a clear and consistent campaign against Kazakhstan.

The staff of the ODF have consistently lobbied MEPs, and also the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for the adoption of all manner of statements, petitions and resolutions of an anti-Kazakhstani orientation. To this end, Kozlovskaya and her colleagues have organised round tables and side events. It is noteworthy that among the officially announced meetings with the EP deputies, there are many who initiated the February 11th resolution.

It is quite obvious that Mukhtar Ablyazov is the main sponsor of ODF activities. In the European media there are many publications and journalistic investigations concerning the connections of the fugitive oligarch with Mrs. Kozlovskaya, and her husband. There are also many questions about the financial reporting of ODF, which is fully sponsored by private donations, including Mrs. Kozlovskaya's close relatives and some dubious companies based in England - we are talking about a structure called Silk Road Group.

Share this article: